Mike Pompeo’s anti-LGBTQ record goes far beyond his personal beliefs.

GLAAD, on Thursday voiced outrage towards the U.S. Senate for confirming Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State by a vote of 57-42 despite his clear anti-LGBTQ record and professional ties to the Family Research Council, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group. Sen. Joe Donnelly, Sen. Doug Jones, Sen. Angus King (I), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Bill Nelson all joined Senate Republicans in pushing through this dangerous confirmation.

"Senators who cast their vote to confirm Mike Pompeo showed complete disregard for the global LGBTQ community by ignoring his ties to anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism, including his work promoting groups like the Family Research Council which supported Uganda's efforts to execute LGBTQ people," said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. "President Trump and his anti-LGBTQ cabinet continuously underestimate the resilience of the LGBTQ community who will stand strong in our fight for safety, equality, and acceptance at home and abroad -- with or without the support of the U.S. State Department."

Prior to Mike Pompeo’s April 12th committee hearing, GLAAD Campus Ambassador Tony Hernandez hand-delivered research Pompeo’s anti-LGBTQ record to the Senate offices of all 21 members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations urging them to question Pompeo to his anti-LGBTQ record.

Sen. Booker, Sen. Shaheen, and Sen. Coons all heeded the call made sure that Pompeo’s anti-LGBTQ agenda was put on full display. During that hearing, Pompeo directly stated he opposes marriage equality and refused to denounce his past statements calling being LGBTQ a “perversion.”

Mike Pompeo’s anti-LGBTQ record goes far beyond his personal beliefs, Pompeo has worked closely with the Family Research Council (FRC), an anti-LGBTQ group which openly supported Uganda’s efforts to punish and execute LGBTQ citizens – known as the “Kill the Gays Bill,” promotes and defends the dangerous practice of conversion therapy, and actively opposed overturning laws that criminalize being gay.

Currently, we are facing deeply troubling times with widespread anti-LGBTQ state violence and discrimination globally. Authorities in Chechnya have detained and attacked over 100 LGBTQ citizens because of their perceived sexual orientation and 27 men have reportedly been killed by Chechen government officials.

At least 141 people were arrested in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta during a May 2017 raid that was part of a county-wide anti-LGBTQ crackdown. In Azerbaijan, police carried out mass arrests of as many as 100 LGBTQ people. Similar crises are happening in Egypt, Russia, Ghana, Bangladesh, and beyond.

Read more on Mike Pompeo’s extensive anti-LGBTQ record and ties to the designated hate group FRC via GLAAD’s Trump Accountably Project.